QB Trent Edwards, DE Chris Kelsay at Bills camp (Courtesy twoeightnine)

The Buffalo Bills held their first night practice of 2008 training camp last night at St. John Fisher College, and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the festivities.  With pen and pad in hand, I spent the majority of my night frantically taking as many notes as possible.  It was a beautiful night, but unfortunately, I was not overly impressed by what I saw from our team.  Here are some observations, from units to players to coaches, that I hope you'll find useful (this could get long):

Edwards Struggles
For all the good that we've heard from Trent Edwards this early in camp, I saw a guy who struggled a lot last night.  He did mention post-practice that what the team was running last night was a whole bunch of new plays, which may have been the reason he looked so poor.  But he was missing receivers high, he was bouncing throws off the turf, and he was very obviously distraught at last night's misgivings.  He didn't show emotion like J.P. Losman used to, but you could definitely tell he was frustrated.  He did, however, make some very nice throws, including a couple nice deep balls.

Losman did not practice; his right thumb was taped up heavily.  He's also grown a very lovely beard this off-season.  Maybe he thinks Edwards' rookie beard is what caused him to lose his job?

Lynch (and Jackson) Looking Impressive
I absolutely loved what I saw out of Marshawn Lynch last night.  He looks more powerful and more agile than he was as a rookie.  Put aside anything you hear about Lynch's breakaway speed - I'm going to chalk that up to Lynch being beaten down by the rigors of his first NFL season.  The guy looked like a superstar in the making.  He also dove into the end zone for a touchdown (probably unnecessarily), drawing a big cheer from the gigantic crowd.

Interestingly, Turk Schonert had Lynch split out wide in a couple of formations.  He looked good catching the ball, but his understudy, Fred Jackson, looked better.

Jackson won't ever be a guy who can carry a full rushing load, but he's got that Kenneth Davis feel about him - he's above average at everything he does, especially catching the football.  He looked smooth and confident last night, and his style is different from that of Lynch.  They're going to complement each other very well.

Receiver/Tight End Notes
I came away with the impression on James Hardy that I thought I was going to come away with: this kid is going to struggle in a big way between the twenties this year.  He's still not a great route-runner, and looks positively sloth-like getting out of some of his breaks, especially on out routes.  But the dude is just straight up huge.  He'll make plays simply because he's big.  But from the looks of things right now, Josh Reed (who looked good as usual) seems like he's got a lock on the starting spot.  My guess is that Reed will play between the twenties, with Hardy being a mainstay on the field in the red zone.

Out of all of Buffalo's receivers, I came away most impressed by undrafted rookie free agent Jason Jones.  He comes from a very small school (Arkansas Pine-Bluff), but he was making some of Buffalo's corners look silly in one-on-one drills.  He's a smooth route-runner and shows great hands; he even blew past Will James on a beautifully executed deep route at one point.  I'm very interested to see how he performs in pre-season games.

At tight end, Derek Schouman and Robert Royal are light-years ahead of the competition.  They're easily the two most fluid athletes at the position.  Yes, Robert Royal makes Derek Fine and Courtney Anderson look unathletic.  I liked the way that Schouman and Royal played when they were together on the field.  Together, they might be productive enough to make us not hate the fact that they didn't draft a more athletic tight end this past April.

O-Line... well, they just need Jason Peters
Kirk Chambers better not be Buffalo's starting left tackle come opening day; I don't think I saw him successfully block Aaron Schobel in one-on-one drills once.  He's a tough blocker in the running game, but his pass protection is, well, poor.  Here's hoping that Jason Peters is back in camp before long...

The line struggled a bit in pass protection.  In 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, Edwards had the pocket collapse on him a couple times; he was forced to throw the ball away once or twice, and made some bad throws while pressured as well.  There were some holes for the team's running backs, though.

Offensive line coach Sean Kugler was working hard with rookie Demetrius Bell on his stance and pass pro technique.  Langston Walker was chipping in with some advice as well.  Bell looks ultra-athletic, but he was the greenest guy on the field by a long shot.  He's certainly a practice squad player at this point, but he's got big upside if the coaches can harness some of that athleticism.

D-Line Looks Fantastic
Buffalo's revamped defensive line looked outstanding, including the much-maligned (here, at least) starting defensive ends.  The unit was fast, powerful and disruptive - and that included the second unit line as well.

Marcus Stroud can't be blocked by one guy.  He just can't.  He's not a big guy, but his center of gravity is low, and he got a significant push every single play.  He pancaked Brad Butler in a one-on-one drill, and in some double team drills, he was able to slip blocks and get a push in most instances.

I loved the fact that John McCargo was following Stroud around like some sort of gigantic puppy.  Stroud was working with McCargo for a few minutes on block-shedding moves; it's good to see a vet helping out a talented youngster.  Those two looked great working together inside when they got to play together.  (For the record, Edwards and Evans were seen throwing off to the side as well.  They looked rather chummy.)

Copeland Bryan ran with the twos, pushing Chris Ellis to third team end, but I don't expect that to last long.  Ellis is green - he lacks lower body strength, so he certainly won't be playing on early downs - but Bryan was pedestrian.  Ellis should pass him on the depth chart by the end of camp.

Crowell Sits; Young LBs Looking Good
Angelo Crowell missed the practice; he had a wrap on his left knee and came out in shorts.  He watched the entire practice from the sidelines.  Keith Ellison replaced him on the strong side; Marcus Buggs took Ellison's spot with the second unit.

Speaking of Buggs, he has a very realistic shot at making this team.  He made one or two very nice hits in punt coverage drills, and while he's small, he looks like a very good athlete.  He's another young guy to keep your eyes on during pre-season action.

Paul Posluszny looked good.  He looks like he's in the best shape of his life, and, to be frank, like he could snap most of the Bills' receivers in half with a good lick.  He and Lynch are easily the team's most popular players.

Defensive Back Notes: Simpson Dinged
Ko Simpson left practice early with an apparent injury to his surgically repaired ankle.  He was walking on it fine on the sidelines, but he clearly was uncomfortable.  We'll see if he practices today.  To no one's surprise, George Wilson took his place with the top unit; he looks far more comfortable back there than he did last season.  He was making a few hits as well.

It was only his second practice, but Leodis McKelvin continued to struggle.  He looked better than what we heard in one-on-one coverage drills, but you can tell his ball skills are lacking.  He'll blanket a receiver, but he's not instinctual in knowing when to turn his head.  He's very good at making plays coming forward, however.  He also looked great returning punts (even earning the very loud praise of Bobby April on one return), and in positional drills, you can tell just how good an athlete the kid is.  He's very technical in his agility (read: amazing footwork), and when that can translate better to covering receivers, he should be outstanding.

Will James struggled.  A lot.  He repeatedly got burned deep covering receivers in single coverage.  He's still probably a lock to be the team's nickel corner on opening weekend.  Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer seem entrenched as the starters, and that shouldn't change any time soon.  Reggie Corner was actually playing ahead of McKelvin in dime packages; McKelvin played outside with the second unit.  I expect McKelvin to take James' nickel spot early in the season, and Corner is a bigger factor in this equation than many people tend to believe.

Ashton Youboty is very clearly the team's sixth corner - and I thought he looked very good.  He blatantly held Jason Jones in single coverage during one drill, but also made a nice break to intercept a pass in front of Felton Huggins.  He's much more physical than some of Buffalo's young guys, as well.  I hope he stays on the team - he's still got a world of talent.

General Observations
I love watching Perry Fewell and Bobby April coach.  They're loud, funny, and they get their guys moving hard.  Their units were easily the two strongest on the field last night.

The offense struggled mightily last night, but you can tell that Turk Schonert's offensive system will be better than Steve Fairchild's.  The tempo is faster, Edwards looks much more comfortable, and more guys are getting involved in the passing game (most notably Roscoe Parrish).

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of the night practice experience.  Perhaps it was the idea that I had to go to work the next morning.  But it was good seeing the guys in Bills colors, and it was even better to hear the crowd chanting and reacting to what was going on on the field.  It was a good time.

The Bills practice from 1:00 to 3:05 today.  Buffalo Rumblings will recap the day's action later this afternoon.

Jackson, backs making plays as receivers (Photo Source)

Day three of 2008 Buffalo Bills Training Camp was a walk-through session; the team made up for the early walk-through today with the first pads practice of camp.  The Bills are completely done with two-a-days for the duration of camp, which may not be a bad thing, considering the way the team was hitting today.

Here's what occurred of note during today's practice, with, as usual, the bulk of the discussion topics lifted from the official site's excellent coverage...

This. Is. Football.
The pads were back on, which means that the Bills were playing physically.  Which means that football is back.  You have to love hearing lines like this:

"Marshawn Lynch got the drill started off with a good hit on linebacker Kawika Mitchell that drew some 'oohs' from the crowd."

Or this:

"In a two-on-two drill where two members of the wedge face two coverage players coming at them, Barnes was a coverage player and cracked rookie Demetrius Bell."

Or even this:

"Xavier Omon effectively lowered his shoulder to put a good lick on John Wendling..."

Running Backs Making Big Catches
We've discussed this very topic a bit already - and we're only five practices in - but running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson continue to make their presences felt in the passing game.

Fred Jackson had one of the prettier catches on the day as he out leapt Kawika Mitchell and Ko Simpson to make the reception down field on a throw from Trent Edwards.

Jackson has been a frequent target of QB Trent Edwards through the early portions of camp.  He was also a frequent target of Edwards during the latter parts of the '07 season; it's not a reach to expect Jackson to catch around 40 passes this season.  He should be involved heavily in the offense, even with Marshawn Lynch healthy.  That's good news for this ball club.

You have to love hearing this as well - if this can be utilized during the regular season, Lynch's celebrity will blossom in a big way...

Lynch may have trumped Wright however, as he made a reception 40 yards downfield as Edwards deftly dropped a ball between a pair of defenders for a big gain.

Welcome to the league, rookie
CB Leodis McKelvin, in his first official training camp practice as a Buffalo Bill, learned a valuable lesson at the hands of WR Roscoe Parrish today.

Leodis McKelvin got his welcome to the NFL from Roscoe Parrish. The speedy wideout flew past him on a go route and J.P. Losman hit him for what would've been a 40-yard gain.

Clearly, Leodis has still got some learning to do.

Impressed by Bowen
Working with the second unit as a rookie fifth-round draft pick, I've been impressed with what I've been hearing about Alvin Bowen.  He's been making plays against the pass, and today, he showed that he can be a factor defending the run as well.  He sounds like a very active linebacker.

John McCargo penetrated to grab Jackson behind the line, fifth-round pick Alvin Bowen also had a tackle for loss on an end around to Steve Johnson and Shaun Nua chipped in a tackle for loss.

Tuesday 7/29: Night Practice
Buffalo's first night practice will take place tomorrow night at 7PM, and Buffalo Rumblings will be represented there by your humble narrator (and we're going to meet up with one of the Dukes of Awesome!).  If anyone is able to make it out to tomorrow's night practice, I know that I would love to meet any and all Rumblers present.

Evans pleased with progress on contract negotiations (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills hit the field at St. John Fisher College for two practice sessions today, as they opened 2008 training camp with two solid practices.  Here's what happened of note on the first day of camp (as reported by BuffaloBills.com):

Peters Holds Out
The big story, of course, is that Jason Peters is holding out.  We'll definitely discuss this a bit more over the weekend (probably tomorrow morning); for now, if you're looking to vent on Peters, check out this story.

Evans Has a Great Day
Lee Evans had a good day, both off the field and on.  In his usual candid manner, Evans confirmed that progress has been made between his agent and the Bills on a contract extension.  This is great news - Evans has been a true professional, never missing a workout and never complaining about his deal (he's currently working on his rookie deal), and the Bills are rewarding him for his loyalty and professionalism.  Hear that, Mr. Peters?

Evans also reportedly ran several outstanding routes today in what was a strong performance by Buffalo's revamped passing attack.  Always one for a good quote, Evans spoke about his comfort level with QB Trent Edwards as they enter their first full season starting together:

"It's only day one, but we certainly have a comfort level with each other," said Evans. "I think he trusts me and I trust him and now it's just a matter of getting in that rhythm and staying in that rhythm and staying consistent."

Edwards Looking Good
Keep in mind that this was just a practice session, but the fact that Edwards started both practice sessions with 10 consecutive completions in 7-on-7 work.  Buffalo's offense, under coordinator Turk Schonert, will have more of a West Coast feel - we're going to see more passing, and Edwards will need to be accurate.  It sounds like he's been precise to this point.

Play of Note: "One of Edwards prettiest passes of the series was when he looked the safety off to the right and then dropped a well-timed ball in between three defenders to Josh Reed on the left side of the field for a 20-yard gain."

Defense Quiet, but Corners Looking Good
Naturally, on a productive day for the offense, the defense didn't have such a good go of it.  Of note, however, was the play of two of Buffalo's sub-package corners in Will James and Ashton Youboty.  Both made multiple nice pass break-ups (James more so than Youboty); the defensive backfield picked off a few passes, and in general were active on the day.

Play of Note: "A deep ball intended for Evans was tipped on a nice play by Ashton Youboty and Simpson was the final beneficiary."

Depth Chart Notes
Kirk Chambers replaced Peters at starting left tackle.  Robert Royal and Derek Schouman both worked with the first team at tight end; they were followed by Courtney Anderson in the rotation.  James Hardy worked with the second team offense at wideout, as Josh Reed ran with Evans at the top of the lineup.  With Kyle Williams excused, John McCargo and Spencer Johnson split first-team reps next to Marcus Stroud.

McKelvin Still Unsigned
Top draft pick Leodis McKelvin missed both of day one's workouts as he remains unsigned.  There was talk that a deal was close enough that a deal might be worked out to get McKelvin on the field for this afternoon's workouts, but that did not materialize.  A deal is expected to be completed over the weekend.

Look for the Bills to wrap up talks with Evans and McKelvin before doing anything with the Jason Peters situation.

Day Two: Saturday 7/26
The Bills hit the field again tomorrow for two more practices - one at 8:30 AM, the other at 2:15 PM.  We'll talk a bit more about Peters, McKelvin and Evans tomorrow morning, and we'll follow it up with another short recap of tomorrow's events.  Again, I'll urge you all - if you go to camp and have anything to say about your visit, let us know.  We'd love to hear about Buffalo's progress from a fan's perspective.

Open competition for DT slot next to Stroud (Photo Source)

Note: As Buffalo Rumblings counts down the days until the start of the Buffalo Bills' 2008 training camp (current count: 3), we'll be breaking down some of the bigger battles we're sure to witness during summer practices.  We continue our Battles series by looking at the battle for the (supposedly) vacant starting DT position.  Previous installments: Backup TE, Backup LT, Starting CB, Returners

As the Buffalo Bills' big-name import from the 2008 NFL off-season, defensive tackle Marcus Stroud will not only be an immediate starter, he'll be counted on as a leader from the moment he dons his new red, white and blue uniform.  Who will Stroud's running mate be inside?  That's the real question, and ultimately, it's a question that probably doesn't need to have a clear answer (and might not when push comes to shove).  Meet the candidates for Buffalo's remaining starting DT slot...

The Slight Favorite: Kyle Williams (95)
After signing a 5-year, $14.5 million contract extension with $5.7 million guaranteed earlier this month, Williams - Buffalo's most consistent interior performer last season - seems to have the inside track at earning the honorary role of "starter" next to Stroud.  An underwhelming (yet underrated) athlete, Williams has steadily improved over his first two seasons, and his aggressiveness and motor make him a disruptive force up front.  A fifth-round pick in 2006, Williams has proven to be an excellent value for the Bills to this point in his career.

The One Guy Who'll Play a Lot: John McCargo (97)
Perhaps the most athletically gifted of Buffalo's interior linemen (notice I didn't say physically gifted; that honor belongs to Stroud), McCargo performed admirably in the second half of the 2007 season and seems poised to become a sparkplug for an exciting young defense this season.  Entering his third season as a former first-round draft pick, McCargo - who had to watch the Bills hand out new or revamped contracts to all three interior linemen on this list besides him - might just be the most motivated guy of the bunch.

That Other Guy Who'll Play a Lot: Spencer Johnson (91)
Buffalo's other off-season import at the DT position, Johnson seems the least likely of the three candidates to start simply because he's unique from the group.  The smallest and quickest of the four tackles, Johnson will likely be the most specialized; sure, he's been asked to learn both the one-tech and three-tech positions during spring practices, but if there's one tackle who should be playing mostly on passing downs, it's Johnson.  He'll play a lot, and he'll even play a lot on run downs.  But Johnson, unlike Stroud, Williams and McCargo, is far better suited to playing one phase of the game - which makes him last on this list.

Predicting the Winner
Ultimately, the answer to this question doesn't mean a lot.  All three of these players will see significant amounts of playing time this season and are being counted on to play crucial roles in a deep, revamped front four rotation.  But one of these guys will be playing more than the others, especially early in games and on early downs.  For now, the answer appears to be Williams.  However, ideally it will be difficult for Williams to hold off McCargo at some point this season.  McCargo has elite ability, and with just a season and five games' worth of experience, it seems likely that he'll really come into his own at some point this season.  When (if?) that happens, it will be impossible to deny McCargo a starting role - no matter how much the coaching staff may like Williams or Johnson.

Fewell tweaking original defensive scheme (Photo Source)

In two seasons as part of the Buffalo Bills' coaching staff, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell - under the tutelage of long-time defensive coach Dick Jauron - has completely revamped the Bills' defense, both in terms of philosophy and personnel.  Gone are the days where big, lumbering defensive linemen paved the way for a group of excellent linebackers to make plays - the essence of the 3-4 defense used from the Super Bowl era right up through the early years of this decade.  Lighter, quicker, and faster is the motto that Fewell and Jauron have preached for the past two seasons.

In 2008, however, that motto has been altered to a more appropriate and idealistic phrase: bigger, faster and stronger.

Earlier this off-season, we took a look at how 2008 personnel changes have left this defense bigger and stronger, especially in the front seven.  Those were the obvious changes.  But even prior to this off-season - in fact, even as far back as 2006 - Fewell has made some changes schematically that will likely carry over to his "new" defensive philosophy of 2008.  Let's examine...

2006: Coverage Shifting
Back in the early portions of 2006, when the Tampa 2 defense was installed in Buffalo (Fewell brought it with him from Chicago, where he coached it under Lovie Smith), the Bills employed a scheme in which their two starting cornerbacks - at that time, Nate Clements and Terrence McGee - would line up on specific sides of the field, play in and play out.  That scheming was exploited quickly by opposing offenses; by the end of the '06 season, Clements was matching up with the opposition's top receiver.

In 2007, Fewell reverted back to the cemented corner philosophy, as Clements' departure left the team without a clear-cut top cornerback.  After giving up plenty of big plays in the season opening loss to Denver, however, that philosophy quickly reverted - Fewell then employed a mix of cementing and matching for the remainder of the season.  Without a true "lock down" cornerback, Fewell didn't have the personnel to switch to a match-up secondary exclusively; it explains, in part, why Jabari Greer was left to cover Randy Moss so frequently.

The Front Seven and the blitz
Fewell's biggest changes in the front seven (again, aside from the size changes) will actually come in 2008; we'll get to those in a moment.  For two seasons, the Bills had a rotation of defensive tackles that would play exclusively the one-technique or exclusively the three-technique; linebackers were meant to be light and speed-focused solely in the zone defense's gap-control run scheme.

After injuries decimated Buffalo's defensive end corps in 2007 - and it didn't help that the defensive ends who did play suffered a steep drop in production - Fewell started using the blitz far more frequently to attain the much-needed pass rush a Tampa 2 needs than he did in 2006.  The blitzes were creative, too - the Bills offered some of their most exotic post-3-4 looks in a 25-24 Monday Night loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

What's Changing in 2008
Now, Buffalo's defense will likely function a bit differently for the start of the 2008 season.  Gone are the exclusive one-tech and three-tech defensive tackles; Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams, Spencer Johnson and John McCargo will each be asked to play both positions, and which they'll be playing will be decided by a given offensive play.  Fewell is now asking his tackles to line up according to how the offense lines up, switching between one-tech and three-tech at will.

The blitz will likely remain a more prominent staple of the scheme as well.  Clearly, Fewell prefers not to blitz (see: the entire 2006 season), but Buffalo's defensive line won't be able to generate pressure every play, and the team's three linebackers - especially Angelo Crowell - are very solid blitzers.  Don't expect to see a lot of it, but the Bills will be blitzing more often than they would have when Fewell first took the job.

Since the blitz should be featured more, expect the match-up corner philosophy to gain prominence as well.  That should become the main defensive back philosophy once top draft pick Leodis McKelvin emerges as a starting cornerback - he's by far the most talented corner on the roster, and with time, he should be able to match up with an opponent's top receiver each week.

The changes that Fewell are employing are pretty major tweaks that will help Buffalo's defense become much more flexible and effective, but the basic philosophies remain - penetration and speed are still the main focuses of this defense.  It's still predominantly a zone defense.  You'll still see every player flocking to the ball on every play.  With added size and the proper tweaks, that speed/flocking philosophy should be much more effective in 2008.

Stroud being counted on to shore up interior (Photo Source)

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft - in fact, prior to the free agent signing period of this past March - we took a look at the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position, breaking down then-current personnel, finding holes, and building our community needs list.

Now that free agency and the Draft have been completed, and the Bills have infused their roster with new talent, it's time to repeat our process.  Where has Buffalo gotten better?  Where have they gotten worse?  How will additions impact which Bills veterans remain on the roster?  These are questions that we'll attempt to answer over the next week or so.

We continue those discussions today with an examination of Buffalo's defensive tackles.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's DT situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

John McCargo: After a rookie season that was severely limited by injury, McCargo was healthy for all 16 games last season and made strides in his second year - despite rather limited playing time.  His 2.5 sacks were good for second on the team (hear that, Chris Kelsay?), and amongst last year's Bills defensive tackles, McCargo was easily the most explosive.  He has the ability to penetrate a line quickly and make explosive tackles behind the line of scrimmage; he didn't do it often last year, however, because of the lack of talent surrounding him.  That's expected to change in 2008, as McCargo elevates to the starting lineup.

Kyle Williams: The most underwhelming talent of Buffalo's top four tackles - a group that will be rotated heavily this season - Williams is yet another hard-working tackle that isn't a strong athlete, but never quits.  He's got some power and a nasty streak up front, but he'll need to play much more consistently if he still wants to receive substantial playing time.  You can't go wrong having a guy like this on your team, but Williams is very clearly the fourth tackle on this roster.

Jason Jefferson: He's stuck with the Bills for about two and a half years at this point, and it's hard to figure out why.  Injuries have kept Jefferson on the roster, and while he's very clearly not a playmaker, he rarely makes mistakes.  Jefferson has an uphill battle to make this year's roster with four guys ahead of him on the depth chart, but hey - he did it last year, too.  I wouldn't be shocked to see him stick as a fifth tackle, especially considering the injury histories of McCargo and Marcus Stroud.

Corey Mace: Entering his second year, Mace spent 16 weeks on the practice squad as a rookie, was elevated to the active roster for Week 17, but was inactive.  He'll likely compete with undrafted rookie free agent Teraz McCray for a spot on the practice squad once again.

The Additions: Marcus Stroud, Spencer Johnson, Teraz McCray
For the first time in a very long time, the Bills' significant off-season move was to pick up a legitimate, NFL starting-caliber defensive tackle.  The last time the team did that was when they acquired Ted Washington.  Stroud hasn't been the "Stroud of old" for a couple of seasons now as he's dealt with injuries, but he still represents a significant upgrade over Larry Tripplett for this team.  Stroud adds a dimension of power to Buffalo's interior line with the ability to play either the 1-technique or the 3-technique, but the trick for him will be to stay healthy in '08.  If that happens, he'll have a good season.

Johnson, who appears to be strictly a 3-technique tackle and possibly a swing end on run downs, is a stellar athlete who is looking to emerge from the shadows of Pat and Kevin Williams in Minnesota.  He is quick and explosive, and figures to see most of his time on pass downs.  He'll factor into the rotation heavily, and he'll definitely give McCargo a run at the starting job next to Stroud as well.  This was an excellent signing.

The Subtractions: Larry Tripplett
Signed in the off-season of 2006, Tripplett never evolved into the playmaking tackle that the team signed him to be.  Granted, he wasn't awful (well, he was pretty awful against the run), but the occasional QB pressure and gift play (see: INT vs. Washington) does not a starting defensive tackle make.  As a new member of the Seattle Seahawks, Tripplett will return to Buffalo in Week 1 of the '08 NFL season.

Pre-Season Outlook: Of any position on the Bills roster, defensive tackle has easily seen the biggest changes this off-season, both in terms of personnel and talent variety.  By shedding Tripplett and adding Stroud and Johnson, the Bills now have four defensive tackles who can play either the 1-tech or 3-tech spots, get after the passer, and (hopefully) stop the run.  This group is more athletic, more powerful, and better gifted at penetration.  There's a lot riding on this group.  If they're not up to the task, the team may be forced to go back to the drawing board once again.  But as it stands now, a failure from this group isn't very likely.  I'm excited to see this unit get on the field this fall.

Change: Power and depth.

As always, your thoughts and opinions on this analysis are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.